Typographical slug casting machine



May 13, 1941. H.'R. FREUND TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fil ed Sept. 12, 1940 INVENTGR l-ERMAN R.FREUND ATI'ORNEY May 13, 1941. H. R. FREUND 2,242,178

TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG QASTING' MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1940 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 T i 1 i i l INVENTOR HERMAN R. FREUND ATTOR N EY Patented May 13, 1941 TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINE Herman R. Freund, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Intertype Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New .York

Application September 12, 1940, Serial No. 356,487

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in type slug casting molds such as employed in line casting machines of the general class shown and described in Letters Patent No. 436,532 granted September 16,- 1890 wherein composed lines of character bearing matrices clamped endwise While supported in a so-called line transporter are presented before the casting slot in the mold whereupon molten type metal is forcibly injected into the rear of the slot to cast a slug bearing the characters on the matrices in the line.

' More particularly, the invention relates to the design and operation of molds for producing type slugs having a body portion with an over-all ing characters cast thereon. Such slugs are particularly useful when it is necessary to effect wide spacing between successive printed lines such as in Congressional bills and the like where successive lines are spaced apart as much as 12 points. By casting the slug body to a thickness below the type line which is equalto the desired spacing between successive lines the slugs will be automatically separated from one another the proper distance when assembled in the printing forms without the necessity of performing the time-consuming and costly operation of supplying between adjacent slugs what are commonly known as spacing leads or individual low height blank slugs.

Obviously, if the casting slot in a mold is enlarged or widened in portions back of the front face thereof, slugs cast therein can be ejected in a forward direction only if the mold, or at least the portion thereof forward of the widened part of the slot, is opened prior to the ejecting operation. A variety of mold constructions have been proposed for casting and permitting the ejection of the aforementioned slugs with an enlarged body portion as well as slugs with longitudinal grooves in the body or the head such as employed in multigraph printing machines and it is well known that in using such molds three distinct mechanical requirements must be satisfied. First, the mold or some part thereof must be moved to an open position to permit forward ejection of the cast slug. Second, the mold must be closed prior to each casting operation and third, the parts of the mold subjected to opening and closing movement must be positively locked together in order to avoid leakages during the slug casting operation due either to the force of the injected type metal or incomplete closure of all joints between the mold parts.

Devices heretofore proposed for performing the operations of opening, closing and locking of mold elements have been found unreliable for one or more of the following reasons:failure to hold the mold elements positively in locked condition while casting, introduction of excessive resistance to the usual and required advance of the mold fully into slug ejecting position or into metal tight lock-up position against the line of matrices, interference with the use of molds of ordinary or standard construction, complication and failure of devices built into the mold proper and actuated through movements of the mold to and from casting and ejecting positions, or employment of a single device for a dual purpose such as both closing and locking the mold.

The present invention'aims to overcome the foregoing disadvantages by providing that the required mold opening, closing and lockingactions each be performed as separate and wholly independent operations by separate devices which are distinct from the mold proper and also the mold disk and which are both simple and sturdy in construction, and none of which interfere withthe use of or require alteration in the construction of standard molds and mold disks or disturb the usual required movements of the mold fully into casting and slug ejecting positions. The mold construction and cooperative devices provided for this purpose according to the invention will be fully understood by those skilled in the art from the detailed description which follows together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation viewed in the plane ll in Figure 3 and shows a fragmentary part of a mold disk of conventional form with a mold and the closing, opening and locking devices therefor as provided by the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the right hand end of the cap element removed from the mold in Figure 1, and also shows the adjacent slotted endportion of the body element in which the right hand arm of the cap is guided.

Figure 3 is an end elevation showing a portion of the usual vise frame of the machine with the mold opening and locking devices of the invention applied thereto and showing also the relation to the mold in Figure 1, prior to a casting operation, of a line of matrices supported in the vise, the mold and vise being shown in section in a perpendicular plane through the line 3--3 in Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows the mold in section as in Figure 3 but in advanced or lock-up position relative to the matrix line and to the mold locking member of the invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a slug cast in the mold of the invention.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the different figures.

Referring to Figure 1, A represents a mold disk of standard construction having a toothed periphery B, the disk being mounted in well known manner on a supporting slide arranged to reciprocate fore and aft in the machine frame and being rotatable in its own plane by means of a driving pinion (not shown). Any one of a plurality of molds secured to the face of the disk may be selected for use by turning the driving pinion by hand until the desired mold is disposed vertically at the right side of the axis of the disk. Upon starting the machine, a short gear segment on the main driving shaft of the machine and operating a train of connections to the disk turns the latter 90 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, thus bringing the selected mold into horizontal or casting position above the axis of the disk. After the casting operation another and longer gear segment turns the disk 270 in the same direction to thus bring the selected mold back to its initial position at the right side of the axis of the disk, this being the slug ejecting position of the mold. Shortly after arrival of the selected mold in horizontal position the disk is moved forward bodily to bring the front face of the mold into firm and metal tight look-up position against the usual vise jaws and the character bearing edges of the matrices clamped endwise therebetween ready for the casting operation. Following this, the disk retreats and turns i 270 as aforesaid whereupon it advances again, this time bringing the selected mold against the usual slug trimming knives (not shown) ready for ejection of the cast slug.

All of the foregoing parts and operations are well known and common to standard machines of the class referred to and none of them are either altered, disturbed or involved directly in the improvements of the present invention.

In the present instance, and for illustrative purposes only, the mold to which the opening, closing and locking devices of the invention are applied has but one movable part, namely, the cap element thereof which is arranged to move bodily in its entirety relative to the body element secured to the face of the mold disk. The mold shown for producing slugs having a body portion thicker than the character bearing edge thereof to thereby automatically effect a desired amount of spacing between printed lines is of the well known recessed type, the slug cast therein being of skeleton form (see Fig. 5) wherein the body for a portion of its height is thickened by raised spacing ribs disposed at suitable intervals. However, it will be apparent that the invention may be applied equally well to other forms of molds arranged to open and close including those commonly employed for casting solid body slugs.

Referring to the drawings, the mold comprises a body element I secured as by screws 2 to the face of the mold disk A and a vertically movable cap element 3 having depending arms 4, one secured at each end thereof and adapted to slide freely in closely fitting slots 5 let into each end of the body element, the arms 4 being recessed as at 6 to clear the end screws 2 in the body. This construction is similar in general to that shown in Letters Patent No. 1,852,985 granted April 5, 1932 to S. E. Sperry.

The inner opposed longitudinal Walls of the body and cap elements form the casting cavity I of the mold, the end walls of which cavity are formed by the inner ends of suitable liner blocks 8 and 9. The upper wall of the cavity or the casting face of the mold cap 3 is provided with fore and aft grooves II] which extend from the rear face of the mold forwardly to a point somewhat short of the front face as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Between the grooves Ii! are raised cores I I on the face of the cap and from an inspection of the skeleton slug S shown in Figure 5 it will be seen that the grooves ID in the mold produce the spacing ribs Ill on the slug while the cores II produce the depressed panels II between the spacing ribs. It will also be clear that the thickness of the slug body at points where the spacing ribs occur is greater than the thickness or point size of the character bearing edge I2 and that the type lines on successive slugs of this kind when assembled in a printing form will, therefore, be spaced apart automatically (that is without requiring the insertion of separate spacing material or leads) a distance equal to the amount of projection of the spacing ribs Ill beyond the character bearing edges of the respective slugs.

Since the rib-forming grooves I0 terminate short of the front face of the mold or within the casting cavity thereof the cast slug as described cannot be ejected unless and until the obstruction formed by the closed portions at the forward ends of the grooves is removed. This is accomplished in the present instance by moving the cap element 3 in its entirety upward or away from the body element 2 during the 270 rotation of the mold from casting to ejecting position. For this purpose, and for other purposes as will later be pointed out, the arms 4 are rigidly tied together at their lower ends by a cross bar I3 and the usual right hand mold disk aligning stud block I l secured to the vise frame C is formed with a fore and aft extension or arm I5 bored out to accommodate a plunger I6 having a roller I! at its exposed forward end. Obviously the arm I5 may be supplied as a separate part rather than making it integral with the stud block I4. The plunger I6 is reduced in diameter within the bore to accommodate a spring IB adapted normally to yieldingly hold the plunger forwardly to the extent permitted by the setting of the adjusting nuts I9 which are threaded on the inner exposed end of the plunger and bank against the outer end of the arm I5.

The roller I! on plunger I6 is normally so disposed as to contact an external surface portion of the bar I3 such as the cam surface 20 formed on the underside thereof, such contact occurring when the mold cap is closed and as the mold during its rotation approaches slug ejecting position. Thus, in Figure 1, the mold is shown in horizontal or casting position in full lines with the cap element 3 in closed position and is represented by dot-dash lines with the cap element opened, roller I! having engaged the cam surface 20 during rotation of the mold. It will be observed that there is a slight depression in the curvature of the cam surface 20 toward the end thereof which first engages the roller I7 the purpose of which is to avoid such upward pressure of the roller on the approach end of the bar I3 as would obviously result in cramping, the shape of the cam surface being such that full pressure for opening the mold cap is applied as the central portion of the bar passes over the roller. In the dot-dash line position of the mold in Figure 1 the cap element is fully open and the front ends of the ribs ll! on the slug Stoast in the mold (shown in full lines) will be seen to be completely exposed or unobstructed for free ejection of the slug in a forward direction.

After ejection, as previously stated, the mold is turned through 90 to position it horizontally ready for the next cast. The cap element 3 which remains open during this 90 travel is pressed downward into closed position by contact of a cam block 2| suitably secured to the cap with a roller 22 carried on the lower end of a vertically disposed plunger 23, the latter being slidable vertically against the action of a spring 24 confined in a suitable bracket 25 which is secured at the right hand end of the usual shield plate 26, all as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As with the cam surface 20 on bar [3, the external surface portion or cam face 21 of the cam block 2| is so shaped as to avoid such pressure of roller 22 on the approach end of the block as would produce a cramping action, the full closing pressure For locking the mold elements positively in closed relation the invention provides a pair of blocks 30, one mounted at the upper end of each of the supporting legs 3 of the usual vise frame of the roller on the mold cap being applied at about the time the center of the mold passes under the roller during rotation of the mold toward casting position and the cam face 21 passing from beneath the roller before the mold reaches horizontal or casting position.

Thus the roller 22 serves only to move the mold cap 3 downward into closed position but does not act to lock or to assist in retaining the cap in such position, the invention providing an entirely separate device for locking purposes which device will shortly be described. It will be pertinent first, however, to point out another feature in connection with the mold opening device. As already explained, the opening roller I! is carried on the exposed forward end of the plunger I6 which is normally held forward by the spring l8 so that the roller lies in the path of rotation of the underside of the cross bar l3 on the mold. As the mold disk rotates with the roller H in such position, the latter will clear the'underside of any other molds X and Y mounted on the disk and not provided with the cross bar referred to, the bottom edges 1: and y of such molds being disposed so far from the axis of the mold disk as to clear the roller ll. However, when the disk makes its usual advance into ejecting position or into position for locking the face of a selected mold then in casting position against a line of matrices M, the yielding arrangement of plunger l6 allows the latter to be pressed inwardly by contact therewith of the usual crowned surface D of the mold disk. Upon retreat of the disk after the ejecting and casting operations spring l8 presses the plunger forward again. Thus the mold opening device comprising the roller I! on the spring pressed plunger I 6 does not in any way interfere with the use of standard molds or with the normal advance of the mold disk into casting and ejecting positions at which time the mold aligning studs 28 on the disk enter the bores 29 in the stud blocks [4 as usual. A set screw [5 is provided in the arm I5 for retaining the plunger l6 in retracted position when the mold having the cross bar 13 is not in use, the plunger being provided with an annular recess Hi in which the set screw seats when the plunger is retracted.

32, and the respective blocks being disposed opposite each end of the mold as indicated in Figure 1. Each block 30 is provided with elongated holes 33 so as to be free to float in a vertical direction on the shouldered mounting screws 34, and each block has a forwardly projecting rectangular lug 35 with a-beveled surface 36 along the bottom edge thereof. The lugs 35 are adapted to enter between the external bottom edge or underside 3? of the mold body I and the oppositely disposed upper edge 38 of the cross bar l3 when the mold advances into casting position, the maximum vertical height or thickness of the lugs being so nearly equal to the Vertical width of the space between the aforesaid edges when the cap element is firmly seated against the body element and liner blocks 8 and 9 as to provide a gauge fit. The presence of the beveled surfaces 36 together with the fact that the mold cap is already closed and the block-s 30 are free to float vertically on their holding screws 34 enables the lugs 35 to enter freely between the aforesaid edges of the mold body and the bar I3 without resistance to the forward advance of the mold into casting position and once the lugs are thus entered, as clearly shown in Figure 4, it will be apparent that they serve as a gauge block or filler between the cap and body elements of the mold and thus constitute means for holding the mold elements positively in locked condition during a slug casting operation.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the invention provides separate devices all distinct from the mold proper for performing the mold opening, closing and locking operations, that each device operates entirely independent of the other, and that the r-espectivedevices cooperate of themselves, one at a time, directly with a different and external surface portion of the mold so that the action of one device is never influenced by that of another. Moreover, none of the devices or operations performed thereby interfere with the use. or construction of standard parts of the machine and none of the normal actions of the machine are in any way disturbed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a'slug casting machine, the combination with a slotted mold comprising cap and body elements one movable relative to the other to open and close the mold slot, of separate devices all distinct from the mold proper and operative of themselves directly and each independently of the other respectively to open, close and lock the mov able element of the mold.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination with a slotted mold comprising cap and body elements one movable relative to the other to open and close the mold slot, of separate devices all distinct from the mold proper and operative of themselves each independently of the other and by engagement directly with difl'erent external surface portions of the mold to open, close and lock the movable mold element relative to the other mold element.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the separate devices specified are all mounted on the machine frame and so disposed relative to the mold as to preclude engagement therewith of more than one of said devices at a time.

4. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold comprising cap and body elementsone movable relative to the other to open and close the mold slot, separate devices distinct in their entirety from the moldproper and operative of themselves each independently of the other directly upon the movable mold element to effect opening and closing of the mold slot, and an additional device also distinct from the mold proper and operable independently of the first mentioned devices directly upon both elements of the mold to positively lock said elements in closed relation.

5. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold comprising cap and body elements one movable relative to the other to open and close the mold slot, a rotary disk upon which the mold is mounted and operable to carry the mold from slug casting to slug ejecting position and vice versa, separate devices distinct from the mold proper and cooperative each directly and for separate limited periods with the movable mold element respectively to open the mold slot as the mold rotatively approaches ejecting position and to close said slot as the mold approaches casting position, and an additional device also distinct from the mold proper but cooperative simultaneously and directly with both elements of the mold and operative alone to lock said mold elements in closed relation during a slug casting operation.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 5, wherein the movable mold element is provided with differently disposed cam surfaces and the separate devices for opening and closing the mold slot are provided with rollers each disposed in path of rotation of one of said surfaces for contact therewith to thereby actuate the movable mold element according to whether the mold slot is opened or closed as the mold rotatively ap proaches said rollers.

7. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold comprising cap and body elements one movable relative to the other to open and close the mold slot, a reciproca-tory and rotary disk upon which the mold is mounted and operable to carry the mold from slug casting to slug ejecting position and vice versa, separate devices fixedly disposed on the machine frame for contact respectively with certain differently disposed external surface portions of the movable mold element only as the mold rotatively approaches ejecting and casting positions to thereby effect opening and closing of the mold slot upon arrival of the mold at such positions, and an additional device also disposed on the machine frame and cooperative upon advance of the mold external surface portions of the cap and body elements of the mold with which said device cooperates are adapted to accommodate said lugs between them substantially without clearance when the mold slot is completely closed and the mold is advanced by the disk into slug casting position.

9. A combination as set forth in claim '7 including a line of matrices from which to cast a slug, and wherein the additional device referred to therein is movably supported on the machine frame and the external surface portions of the cap and body elements of the mold with which said device cooperates comprise a longitudinal undersurface of the body element and a parallel opposed surface of a cross bar secured to the cap element, said additioial device being constructed for entry freely between said surfaces as the mold advances toward the matrix line.

10. A combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the body element of the mold is stationary and the cap constitutes the movable element of the mold and wherein the external surface portions of the mold engaged by the separate devices referred to comprise respectively a cam surface along the top of the cap to cooperate with the device for closing the mold slot, a cam surface on a cross bar secured to the cap but disposed below the body element to cooperate with the device for opening the mold slot, and parallel opposed surfaces on the fixed body and the cross bar to cooperate simultaneously with the device for locking the mold elements together in closed relation.

11. A combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the mold body is stationary and the cap constitutes the movable element of the mold and the separate devices for effecting respectively opening, closing and locking of the movable mold element comprise a roller engageable with a cam surface along a cross bar secured to the cap but spaced from the bottom edge of the body for effecting opening movement of the cap, another roller engageable with a cam surface along the top of the cap for effecting closing movement thereof, and lugs engageable inthe space between the bottom of the body and the cross bar of the cap for locking the cap in closed position relative to the body.

12. A combination as set forth in claim '7, wherein the additional device referred to therein comprises two separate lugs projecting toward the mold, each of a given vertical thickness and tapered at their forward ends and each mounted for vertical movement on the machine frame, and wherein the external surface portions of the cap and body elements of the mold with which said lugs cooperate are spaced apart, when the mold slot is closed, a distance substantially equal to the vertical thickness of said lugs, said surfaces being adapted to engage the tapered ends of said lugs and move the latter to a level suitable for entry between them upon advance of the mold while at casting position.

HERMAN R. FREUND. 

